RV Blogging From on the Road

I think the pleasure of completed work is what makes blogging so popular. You have to believe most bloggers have few if any actual readers. The writers are in it for other reasons. Blogging is like work, but without coworkers thwarting you at every turn. All you get is the pleasure of a completed task.

I know many folks who blog.   Of course, I haven’t had an opportunity to actually meet all the people whose blog I read but it is fun when I can.  The other day we had an opportunity to meet John and Judy.  They keep up a blog that I’ve been reading.  You can check it out here. When I discovered they were close to where we were, we sat up a date and place to meet. Then, we drug our RVing neighbors, Steve and Carol with us. It’s amazing how much you have in common with fellow bloggers and fellow RV’ers. We had a marvelous time and met “new” friends thanks to blogging.

There are hundreds and hundreds of blogs out there for reading.  Blogging has been around since about the mid 1990’s but didn’t take off strong until the end of the 1990’s.   The early bloggers started out posting personal accounts of their life and then it spread to news stories.  Look at it now.  In addition to RVers, it’s now used by politicians, corporations and news media.  Actually, just about every area of interest (or no interest) can be found in a blog.  Blogging has turned into a mighty big business.   And, the blogs are so very different.

The bloggers we know and keep up with are those who blog from the road mainly with their RV experiences and RV tips.  In other words.  RV’ers tend to write blogs geared for readers who travel around in their RV whether they are just weekenders writing about their experiences, snowbirders heading south for the winter or even full-timers who are out to travel and see as much as they can.  Some blogs are very passionate about their topics and others are meant to be easy reading giving RVing tips or just a daily dairy.  Others have a purpose such as posting reviews on RV parks or even giving hints on great places to visit.  After following a blog for quite some time you really feel you have gotten to know people even though you haven’t met.   Well, you have met but just not in person.  And, of course, if you’re reading this, there’s probably a good chance that you’re a blogger too.

Blogs are so different.  Just like the reason for blogging is so different.  Even the pictures vary on blogs from large ones to tiny ones or even none.  Then, there are some folks who write blogs for money.   This must be big business because a lot of blogs have advertisements added to them. I just want to know if it’s enough $$$  to tempt me.   I would think in order to have a dedicated following, writing your blog really would have to be treated like a job in a sense.  You’d probably have to be very religious about posting a blog each and every day.  Then, you’d have to try to be witty at times and be able to pass along interesting information at other times.  In other words, you have to wear a bunch of different hats to pull in different types of readers.  You’d also have to market yourself to other bloggers by reading and posting on their blogs.  Now that’s work!!  I read blogs but usually don’t leave a comment except for a few and others when they have commented on mine because it can be work jogging that old brain into thinking of something cute to say.  I’d have to change my thought pattern.

When I post every day it is usually just to get caught up on our own events and not necessarily to make money on a following.  However, having to do it to promote business is another thing but if a lot of money is to be made, just let me know and I might change my mind.  Blogging is very addictive but it’s also fun.  It gives the writer a chance to express their thoughts.  It’s also good because it keeps that thinker thinking.  I bet the more controversial the topic, the more readers one would have too.  There are many things I’d like to write about but hesitate to do so.  If I were doing it for money, I’m sure I wouldn’t hesitate quite so much. 

“Making money from blogging requires you to do only two things: drive a lot traffic, then maximize the income from that traffic.”

Blogging styles are so very different which is good.  One of the little differences is the use of  Captcha or Word Verification characters that one must decipher prior to posting.  I really dislike trying to interpret those odd shaped characters.  Some of them are really simple to make out and others are difficult. Usually the bloggers who are out to make money don’t have these crazy little characters attached to their blog.  Are they really needed?   

Another difference in the blogs is how the comments are handled.  Sometimes when you leave a comment, you just leave a comment and it ends there.   However, there are bloggers who respond to comments left on their blogs by leaving another comment on their own blog.  I almost never go back to reread a blog where I left a comment to see if there was a response.  Is the added comment just for future readers?  I certainly haven’t been able to figure that one out but if it works for the writer that’s all that really matters and maybe it’s just a note to self for future reading.  After all, it’s their blog and they can do and say whatever they like.  I like to respond to comments via email when at all possible but don’t always have email accounts of the person leaving a comment.    

We all have our favorite blogs.  I have a few favorites and sometimes when we’re so busy it’s difficult to keep up with them.  I guess blogs to me are like keeping up with the news.  Some folks watch CNN and FOX.  I do a few blogs.  Some blogs are perfectly written and easy to read.  Others not quite so easy.  It’s amazing how much a little punctuation and spelling can do to a blog. It makes reading so much easier.  Just like easy listening music, blogs are for entertainment.  Sometimes I like them easy reading style and other times I like them with lots of thought. 

Most blogs are started by using Blogger.com or Wordpress.com.  There are definite differences and bloggers develop a preference.  Blogger is the product of Google. Lots of little add-ons are available making it easy to use including template help, analytics and even photo albums.  Best of all the service is FREE.

Don’t you love the freedom of blogging? A blog is really all about you! There aren’t many things in this old world that are really all about you but a blog can be  … if you have the guts.

 

Take care .. keep the blogging up and write about what you want to write about.